Cell broadcast for signaling resource load from radio access networks

ABSTRACT

Concepts and technologies are described herein for cell broadcast for signaling resource load from one or more radio access networks (“RANs”). According to one aspect disclosed herein, a base station can collect signaling load information of the base station. The base station can also generate a cell broadcast message that includes the signaling load information. The base station can also send the cell broadcast message to a target mobile device. The target mobile device can be configured to determine, based at least in part upon the signaling load information, to which radio access network of a plurality of radio access networks to connect.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/520,020, entitled “Cell Broadcast for SignalingResource Load from Radio Access Networks,” filed Oct. 21, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,398,518, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, mobile telecommunications carriers have experienced adramatic increase in traffic on their networks, and this trend willlikely continue. This increase in traffic has been caused in part by theincreased adoption of smartphones and other devices that rely on mobiletelecommunications networks, and the migration of many customers fromutilizing landline telecommunication services to utilizing mobiletelecommunication services for their communications needs. To meet thedemands of higher traffic and to improve the end user experience, mobiletelecommunications carriers are examining mechanisms by which to improvenetwork efficiency, network capacity, and the end user experience, whilekeeping operational costs at a level conducive to maintainingcompetitive rates for the services they provide.

SUMMARY

Concepts and technologies are described herein for cell broadcast forsignaling resource load from one or more radio access networks (“RANs”).According to one aspect disclosed herein, a base station can collectsignaling load information of the base station. The base station cangenerate a cell broadcast message that includes the signaling loadinformation. The base station can send the cell broadcast message to atarget mobile device. The target mobile device can determine, based atleast in part upon the signaling load information, to which RAN of aplurality of RANs to connect.

In some embodiments, the cell broadcast message is or includes a systeminformation block (“SIB”). In some other embodiments, the cell broadcastmessage is or includes a short messaging service (“SMS”) message. Insome embodiments, the cell broadcast message can include a priorityorder in which the mobile device should select the plurality of RANs.

In some embodiments, the base station can learn signaling loadinformation of one or more overlapping cells associated with a differentradio access technology (“RAT”) from a RAT utilized by the base station.In these embodiments, the base station can generate the cell broadcastmessage further including the signaling load information of theoverlapping cell(s).

In some embodiments, the base station can learn signaling loadinformation of one or more overlapping cells associated with a differentfrequency from a frequency utilized by the base station. In theseembodiments, the base station can generate the cell broadcast messagefurther including the signaling load information of the overlappingcell(s).

It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may beimplemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture such as acomputer-readable storage medium. These and various other features willbe apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description and areview of the associated drawings.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intendedthat this Summary be used to limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an illustrativeoperating environment for various concepts disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for generatinga cell broadcast message that includes network signaling loadinformation, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for utilizingnetwork signaling load information received in a cell broadcast messageto select a radio access network, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of another illustrativeoperating environment for various concepts disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for generatinga signaling load query, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method for generatinga signaling load query response, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemcapable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device capableof implementing aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 is schematically illustrates a network, according to anillustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the subject matter described herein may be presented, at times, inthe general context of program modules that execute in conjunction withthe execution of an operating system and application programs on acomputer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and/orother types of structures that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the subject matter described herein may be practicedwith other computer system, including hand-held devices, mobile devices,wireless devices, multiprocessor systems, distributed computing systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, routers, switches, other computingdevices described herein, and the like.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustration specific embodiments or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughoutthe several figures, example aspects of traffic steering across radioaccess technologies and radio frequencies utilizing cell broadcastmessages will be presented.

Referring now to FIG. 1, aspects of an illustrative operatingenvironment 100 for various concepts disclosed herein will be described.It should be understood that the operating environment 100 and thevarious components thereof have been greatly simplified for purposes ofdiscussion. Accordingly, additional or alternative components of theoperating environment 100 can be made available without departing fromthe embodiments described herein.

The operating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a mobile device102 that is configured to connect to and communicate with one or moreradio access networks (“RANs”) for voice and/or data communicationsbetween the mobile device 102 and one or more other mobile devices,computers, servers, networking devices, and/or other networks (notshown). The mobile device 102 is also configured to receive a cellbroadcast message 104 from one or more RANs. The cell broadcast message104 can include information regarding network signaling load conditionsof one or more RANs to which the mobile device 102 is capable ofconnecting. The mobile device 102 can select one or more RANs to connectto, based at least in part upon the signaling load information includedin the cell broadcast message 104.

In the illustrated example, the mobile device 102 receives the cellbroadcast message 104 including local signaling load information 106collected by a base station 108 that is operating within a cell 110 of aRAN. As used herein, a “signaling load” refers to a load created by oneor more signaling operations between one or more of RANs and the mobiledevice 102 via one or more signaling bearers. Moreover, a “singlingload” specifically excludes any traffic load associated with one or moretraffic bearers. For example, an LTE RAN base station can monitor andreport the utilization of physical uplink and downlink control channels(“PUCCH” and “PDCCH”) according to the percentage of time theseresources are idle and available over a specified time interval.

As used herein, a “cell” refers to a geographical area that is served byone or more base stations operating within a RAN. As used herein, a“base station” refers to a radio receiver and/or transmitter(collectively, transceiver) that is/are configured to provide aradio/air interface by which one or more mobile devices, such as themobile device 102, can connect to a network. Accordingly, a base stationis intended to encompass one or more base transceiver stations (“BTSs”),one or more Node Bs, one or more eNodeBs, and/or other networking nodesthat are capable of providing a radio/air interface regardless of thetechnologies utilized to do so. A base station can be in communicationwith one or more antennas (not shown), each of which may be configuredin accordance with any antenna design specifications to provide aphysical interface for receiving and transmitting radio waves to/from anetwork.

The cell broadcast message 104 can additionally or alternatively includeat least a portion of signaling load information 112A-112N (hereinafter,at times, referred to collectively or generically as “signaling loadinformation 112”) collected by one or more other base stations 114A-114N(hereinafter, at times, referred to collectively or generically as“other base stations 114”) that operate in corresponding cells 116A-116N(hereinafter, at times, referred to collectively or generically as“other cells 116”) of the same RAN as the cell 110 or one or more otherRANs. In some instances, the base station 108 operates utilizing a firstfrequency of a radio access technology (“RAT”), while one or more of theother base stations 114 operate utilizing a second frequency of the sameRAT. As used herein, a RAT can refer to any mobile telecommunicationsstandard or draft standard thereof, or any other technology by which amobile device, such as the mobile device 102, can wirelessly access aRAN.

The mobile device 102 may be a cellular phone, a feature phone, asmartphone, a mobile computing device, a tablet computing device, aportable television, a portable video game console, or any othercomputing device that is configured to connect to and communicate withone or more RANs via one or more radio access components. In someembodiments, the mobile device 102 includes an integrated or externalradio access component that facilitates wireless communication with oneor more RANs. The radio access component may be a cellular telephonethat is in wired or wireless communication with the mobile device 102 tofacilitate a tethered data connection to one or more RANs.Alternatively, the access component includes a wireless transceiverconfigured to send data to and receive data from one or more RANs and auniversal serial bus (“USB”) or another communication interface forconnection to the mobile device 102 so as to enable tethering. In anycase, the mobile device 102 can wirelessly communicate with one or moreRANs over a radio/air interface in accordance with one or more RATs. Themobile device 102 may also initiate, receive, and/or maintain voicecalls with one or more other voice-enabled telecommunications devicessuch as other mobile devices or landline devices (not shown). The mobiledevice 102 may also exchange Short Message Service (“SMS”) messages,Multimedia Message Service (“MMS”) messages, email, and/or othermessages with other devices (not shown).

The cell broadcast message 104 can include any message that is capableof being sent to the mobile device 102 from a base station over aradio/air interface. The cell broadcast message 104 can be sent to themobile device 102 using any physical, transport, and/or logicalchannels. These channel types are generally known and therefore are notdescribed in greater detail herein.

In some embodiments, the cell broadcast message 104 is or includes aSystem Information Block (“SIB”). In some other embodiments, the cellbroadcast message 104 is included in a SIB that contains otherinformation. The SIB may be a new SIB configured to include signalingload information such as the local signaling load information 106 and/orthe signaling load information 112. Alternatively, the SIB may be anexisting SIB that has been modified to include signaling loadinformation.

In some embodiments, the cell broadcast message 104 is an SMS message.In these embodiments, the base station 108 can send the cell broadcastmessage 104 to the mobile device 102, and potentially to one or moreother mobile devices that are connected to the base station 108 orotherwise operating within the cell 110, via SMS Cell Broadcast(“SMS-CB”). Alternatively, in these embodiments, the base station 108can send the cell broadcast message 104 to the mobile device 102 via SMSPeer-to-Peer (“SMPP”). The cell broadcast message 104 may be sent to themobile device 102 via other messaging services including, but notlimited to, MMS, Wireless Application Protocol (“WAP”) push message,Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (“USSD”), or any combinationthereof. It should be understood that network elements, such as ShortMessage Service Centers (“SMSCs”), Multimedia Message Service Centers(“MMSCs”), WAP servers, USSD servers, and the like, that support theaforementioned messaging services are not illustrated merely for ease ofdescription, however, these and/or other network elements can beutilized to support the aforementioned delivery methods of the cellbroadcast message 104.

In the illustrated example, the mobile device 102 receives the cellbroadcast message 104 from the base station 108. Alternatively oradditionally, the mobile device 102 can receive one or more cellbroadcast messages from any number of base stations such as one or moreof the other base stations 114. Also in the illustrated example, thecell broadcast message 104 includes the local signaling load information106 and the signaling load information 112. It is contemplated, however,that the cell broadcast message 104 may include only the local signalingload information 106, only the signaling load information 112A, only thesignaling load information 112B, only the signaling load information112N, or any combination thereof.

The mobile device 102 includes an operating system 118, a networkconnection manager 120, a network decision engine 122, and one or moreradio access components 124. The operating system 118 is a program forcontrolling the operation of the mobile device 102. The operating system118 can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family of operating systemsfrom SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILE OS and/or WINDOWSPHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION, amember of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems from HEWLETTPACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family of operatingsystems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOS family ofoperating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OS family ofoperating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operating systems.These operating systems are merely illustrative of some contemplatedoperating systems that may be used in accordance with variousembodiments of the concepts and technologies described herein andtherefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The network connection manager 120 can be configured to manage all or aportion of the network connections available to the mobile device 102 ata given time, including, for example, connections established via one ormore radios of the mobile device 102 such as one or more of the radioaccess components 124. In some embodiments, the network connectionmanager 120 is included as part of the operating system 118 and/oranother application stored on the mobile device 102 such as the networkdecision engine 122.

The network decision engine 122 utilizes network signaling loadinformation included in cell broadcast messages, such as the cellbroadcast message 104, to determine to which network the mobile device102 should connect. In some embodiments, the network decision engine 122is an application program that includes computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors of the mobile device 102,cause the mobile device 102 to analyze the network signaling loadinformation included in one or more cell broadcast messages to selectone or more RANs and instruct the mobile device 102, and moreparticularly, the network connection manager 120, to connect to theselected RAN(s).

In some embodiments, the local signaling load information 106 and/or thesignaling load information 112 includes historic network signaling loadinformation. As used herein, “historic network signaling loadinformation” can include signaling load information obtained based uponnetwork signaling load experienced by the base station 108 and/or one ormore of the other base stations 114 in the past or otherwise innon-real-time. In some embodiments, historic network signaling loadinformation is utilized by the mobile device 102 to identify one or morenetwork signaling load trends over a specified period of time. Thistrending network signaling load information can be useful to the mobiledevice 102 to predict times during which network signaling load isfavorable or not to support communications between the mobile device 102and one or more RANs.

In some other embodiments, the local signaling load information 106and/or the signaling load information 112 includes current networksignaling load information. As used herein, “current network signalingload data” can include network signaling load data that is obtainedbased upon a network signaling load experienced by the base station 108and/or one or more of the other base stations 114 in real-time or nearreal-time. Real-time, in this context, is the actual time during which anetwork signaling load is experienced by the base station 108 and/or oneor more of the other base stations 114. Near real-time, in this context,is the actual time during which a network signaling load is experiencedby the base station 108 and/or one or more of the other base stations114 plus a delay on the order of seconds, minutes, or any order ofmagnitude thereof, for example.

What constitutes near-real time network signaling load informationversus historic network signaling load information can be defined by aservice provider that provides service via the base station 108 and/orone or more of the other base stations 114. It should be understood thatreal-time network signaling load information associated with a real-timenetwork signaling load of the base station 108 and/or one or more of theother base stations 114, and near real-time network signaling loadinformation associated with a near real-time network signaling load ofthe base station 108 and/or one or more of the other base stations 114might be received by the mobile device 102 with delay caused by latencyand/or other network phenomena. Moreover, this delay may increase withthe additional time needed to generate the cell broadcast message 104including the local signaling load information 106 and/or the signalingload information 112, and to send the cell broadcast message 104 to themobile device 102.

In some embodiments, the network decision engine 122 utilizes additionalinformation to select one or more RANs. This information can include,but is not limited to, one or more policies and/or one or more userprofiles. As used herein, the term “policy” refers to one or moresettings, one or more configurations, one or more rules, and/or the likethat define, at least in part, one or more courses or methods of actionin light of one or more conditions to be used in a determination made bythe mobile device 102 regarding to which RAN(s) the mobile device 102should connect. In some embodiments, a policy includes one or more rulesthat specify one or more if-then conditions by which to handle aparticular situation, such as redirecting network traffic based uponnetwork signaling load experienced by the base station 108 and/or one ormore of the other base stations 114 and that is reported to the mobiledevice 102 in the cell broadcast message 104. In some other embodiments,a policy includes one or more matrices of cause and effect conditions,tables of actions, and/or the like for responding to or otherwisedealing with certain stimuli, such as network conditions evidenced bythe local signaling load information 106, the signaling load information112, and/or other stimuli.

As used herein, the term “user profile” refers to a collection of dataassociated with a user that accesses one or more RANs via a device suchas the mobile device 102. A user in this context refers to an individualor other entity. A user profile can define information regarding aservice agreement between a user and one or more service providers thatprovide a service, at least in part, via one or more RANs. The serviceagreement may include terms of service for pre-paid and/or post-paidservice. The service agreement may include terms of roaming agreementsbetween two or more service providers such as mobile telecommunicationscarriers. The service agreement may define a service tier for the user.A service tier may establish a priority for a user in regard toutilizing network resources to connect to one or more RANs via themobile device 102.

As used herein, a RAN may operate in accordance with one or more mobiletelecommunications standards including, but not limited to, GlobalSystem for Mobile communications (“GSM”), Code Division Multiple Access(“CDMA”) ONE, CDMA2000, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(“UMTS”), Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (“WiMAX”), other 802.XX technologies, and/or the like.A RAN can utilize various channel access methods (which may or may notbe used by the aforementioned standards) including, but not limited to,Time Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”), Frequency Division MultipleAccess (“FDMA”), Single Carrier FDMA (“SC-FDMA”), CDMA, wideband CDMA(“W-CDMA”), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (“OFDM”), SpaceDivision Multiple Access (“SDMA”), and/or the like to provide aradio/air interface to the mobile device 102. Data communications can beprovided in part by a RAN using General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”),Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (“EDGE”), the High-Speed PacketAccess (“HSPA”) protocol family including High-Speed Downlink PacketAccess (“HSDPA”), Enhanced Uplink (“EUL”) or otherwise termed High-SpeedUplink Packet Access (“HSUPA”), Evolved HSPA (“HSPA+”), LTE, and/orvarious other current and future wireless data access technologies.Moreover, a RAN may be a GSM RAN (“GRAN”), a GSM EDGE RAN (“GERAN”), aUMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (“UTRAN”), an E-UTRAN, anycombination thereof, and/or the like.

A RAN can be part of one or more mobile telecommunications networks. Asused herein, a mobile telecommunications network includes one or moreRANs and a wireless wide area network (“WWAN”), which may, in turn,include one or more core networks such as a circuit-switched corenetwork (“CS CN”), a packet-switched core network (“PS CN”), and/or anIP multimedia subsystem (“IMS”) core network. The WWAN can utilize oneor more mobile telecommunications technologies, such as those describedabove, to provide voice and/or data services via one or more RANs to oneor more radio components of one or more mobile devices, such as theradio access component(s) 124 of mobile device 102. Moreover, a mobiletelecommunications network can provide a connection to an internet orother WAN so that the mobile device 102 can access internet content suchas websites, streaming media, online video games, downloadable content,and the like.

As mentioned above, the cell 110 and the other cells 116 may be part ofthe same RAN or any number of different RANs. In some instances, themobile device 102 is capable of simultaneous connection to the cell 110in addition to one or more of the other cells 116. As such, in someembodiments, the mobile device 102 is a multi-mode device. The cell 110and the other cells 116 can be any shape and can have any dimensions.Thus, the illustrated embodiment should be understood as beingillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

It should be understood that some implementations of the operatingenvironment 100 may include additional functionality or include lessfunctionality than described above. Thus, the illustrated embodimentshould be understood as being illustrative, and should not be construedas being limiting in any way.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method200 for generating a cell broadcast message, such as the cell broadcastmessage 104, that includes network signaling load information will bedescribed, according to an illustrative embodiment. It should beunderstood that the operations of the illustrative methods disclosedherein are not necessarily presented in any particular order and thatperformance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s)is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented inthe demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration.Operations may be combined, separated, added, omitted, modified, and/orperformed simultaneously or in another order without departing from thescope of the subject disclosure.

It also should be understood that the illustrated methods can be endedat any time and need not be performed in their entirety. Some or alloperations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations,can be performed by execution of computer-executable instructionsincluded on a computer-readable storage media, as defined below. Theterm “computer-executable instructions,” and variants thereof, as usedin the description and claims, is used expansively herein to includeroutines, application programs, software, application modules, programmodules, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like.Computer-executable instructions can be implemented on various systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor systems,distributed computing systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers,personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based,programmable consumer electronics, combinations thereof, and the like.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations describedherein may be implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented actsor program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof.

The method 200 is described from the perspective of the base station108. As such, the method 200 is described with additional reference toFIG. 1. The method 200 begins and proceeds to operation 202, where thebase station 108 collects the local signaling load information 106. Thelocal signaling load information 106 can include signaling utilizationinformation associated with the utilization of signaling resourcesavailable to the base station 108. In some embodiments, the base station108 collects signaling utilization information, and then calculates acomposite signaling load level of the base station 108 for inclusion inthe cell broadcast message 104. A composite signaling load level can becalculated utilizing any signaling load calculation method, which, forexample, may be selected by or for a service provider operating the basestation 108 based upon the needs of the service provider.

From operation 202, the method 200 proceeds to operation 204, where thebase station 108 learns the signaling load information 112 from one ormore neighbor base stations, which may include one or more of the otherbase stations 114, that operate within the same RAN. In someembodiments, the base station 108 learns the signaling load information112 utilizing a self-organizing network or self-optimizing networkfeature such as provided by 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project(“3GPP”) and/or New Generation Mobile Networks (“NGMN”). In particular,the base station 108 can utilize the Automatic Neighbor Relation (“ANR”)detection feature of LTE to detect one or more of the other basestations 114 and collect the signaling load information 112 therefrom.Other mechanisms by which the base station 108 can learn signaling loadinformation of one or more neighboring cells are contemplated.

From operation 204, the method 200 proceeds to operation 206, where thebase station 108 learns the signaling load information 112 of one ormore overlapping cells that may include one or more of the other cells116 in which one or more of the other base stations 114 operate, andthat utilize a different RAT than the RAT utilized by the base station108. For example, the base station 108 and one or more of the other basestations 114 may operate in accordance with different RATs, and may alsooverlap in radio range such that the base station 108 is capable ofreceiving signals broadcast by one or more of the other base stations114. In such a configuration, the base station 108 can learn thesignaling load information 112 from the other base stations 114 andutilize the information to enhance the collective signaling loadinformation provided to the mobile device 102 in the cell broadcastmessage 104.

From operation 206, the method 200 proceeds to operation 208, where thebase station 108 learns the signaling load information 112 of one ormore overlapping cells that may include one or more of the other cells116 in which one or more of the other base stations 114 operate, andthat utilize a different frequency than the frequency utilized by thebase station 108. For example, the base station 108 and one or more ofthe other base stations 114 may operate in accordance with differentradio frequencies, and may also overlap in radio range such that thebase station 108 is capable of receiving signals broadcast by one ormore of the other base stations 114. In such a configuration, the basestation 108 can learn the signaling load information 112 from the otherbase stations 114 and utilize the signaling load information 112 toenhance the collective signaling load information provided to the mobiledevice 102 in the cell broadcast message 104.

From operation 208, the method 200 proceeds to operation 210, where thebase station 108 generates the cell broadcast message 104 including atleast a portion of the local signaling load information 106 and/or thesignaling load information 112, collected at operations 202-208. Fromoperation 210, the method 200 proceeds to operation 212, where the basestation 108 sends the cell broadcast message 104 to one or more mobiledevices, including the mobile device 102. From operation 212, the method200 proceeds to operation 214, where the method 200 may end.

Although the method 200 is described as being performed for one basestation, in some implementations, the method 200 is utilized by aplurality of base stations operating in the same RAN and/or acrossmultiple RANs that may utilize the same or different RAT and/or the sameor different radio frequency. Accordingly, in these implementations,mobile devices operating within various RANs can receive one or morecell broadcast messages that provide insight into the signaling loadconditions of the various RANs to which the mobile devices are capableof connecting. For cases in which a single cell broadcast message isutilized, network signaling load information of one or more cells can beconcatenated within the same message. The mobile devices can thenutilize this information at least in part to select one or more of theRANs and connect to the selected RANs.

In some embodiments, signaling load information is sent in an order ofpriority based upon, for example, signaling load conditions and/or otherfactors, such as, but not limited to, RAT, frequency band, and carrierpreferences. The priority order can convey to a mobile device thepreference of RAT, frequency band, and/or cellular network the mobiledevice should select. If a single cell broadcast message is used,signaling load information can be concatenated and listed within thecell broadcast message in an order of priority.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method300 for utilizing signaling load information received in a cellbroadcast message, such as the cell broadcast message 104, to select aRAN will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. Themethod 300 is described from the perspective of the mobile device 102.As such, the method 300 is described with additional reference to FIG.1.

The method 300 begins and proceeds to operation 302, where the mobiledevice 102 receives the cell broadcast message 104 from the base station108. The cell broadcast message 104 can include at least a portion ofthe local signaling load information 106 and/or the signaling loadinformation 112 collected at operations 202-208 of the method 200,described above. From operation 302, the method 300 proceeds tooperation 304, where the mobile device 102 executes the network decisionengine 122 to select a RAN based in part upon the signaling loadinformation included in the cell broadcast message 104. In someembodiments, the network decision engine 122 factors one or morepolicies and/or one or more user profiles for a user of the mobiledevice 102 in selecting one or more RANs. From operation 304, the method300 proceeds to operation 306, wherein the mobile device 102 connects tothe selected RAN. From operation 306, the method 300 proceeds tooperation 308, wherein the method 300 may end.

In some embodiments, signaling load information is received by a mobiledevice in an order of priority based upon, for example, signaling loadconditions and/or other factors, such as, but not limited to, RAT,frequency band, and carrier preferences. The mobile device can utilizethe priority order to determine a preference of RAT, frequency band,and/or cellular network of a carrier providing service to the mobiledevice and based the selection of RAN at least in part upon thispreference.

Turning now to FIG. 4, aspects of an illustrative operating environment400 for various concepts disclosed herein will be described. It shouldbe understood that the operating environment 400 and the variouscomponents thereof have been greatly simplified for purposes ofdiscussion. Accordingly, additional or alternative components of theoperating environment 400 can be made available without departing fromthe embodiments described herein.

The operating environment 400 shown in FIG. 4 includes the mobile device102, which is described above in greater detail with reference toFIG. 1. In the operating environment 400, the mobile device 102 isconfigured to connect to and communicate with a RAN 402. The RAN 402 canoperate in accordance with any of the technologies described hereinabove. In the illustrated embodiment, the RAN 402 includes anSIB-incompatible base station 404. The SIB-incompatible base station 404does not support SIBs that include signaling load information(hereinafter “signaling load-based SIB”). In such instances, the mobiledevice 102, and more particularly, the network decision engine 122, cangenerate a signaling load query 406 and send the signaling load query406 to a network signaling load management system 408. In response, thenetwork signaling load management system 408 can obtain the signalingload information requested in the signaling load query 406 from asignaling load information database 410 and provide the requestedsignaling load information to the mobile device 102 in a signaling loadquery response 412 (“signaling load response 412”).

The network signaling load management system 408 receives signaling loadinformation from the RAN 402 and stores the signaling load informationin the signaling load information database 410. The signaling loadinformation can include any of the various types of signaling loadinformation described above. The network signaling load managementsystem 408, in some embodiments, requests signaling load informationfrom the RAN 402 and, more particularly, one or more network elementsoperating within the RAN 402 such as the SIB-incompatible base station404. As such, the network signaling load management system 408 can be ina pull configuration with one or more network elements of the RAN 402.In some other embodiments, the network signaling load management system408 receives the signaling load information pushed by one or morenetwork elements of the RAN 402. Although the network signaling loadmanagement system 408 is illustrated as being external to the RAN 402,the network signaling load management system 408 can operate within theRAN 402 or elsewhere within a mobile telecommunications network thatincludes the RAN 402.

Although the network signaling load management system 408 is illustratedas being in communication with a single RAN, the network signaling loadmanagement system 408 may be in communication with any number of RANs toreceive signaling load information therefrom. Moreover, the signalingload information received from the RAN 402 can include signaling loadinformation for one or more other RANs that operate in accordance withother technologies and/or frequencies.

The mobile device 102 can generate the signaling load query 406 on aperiodic basis, which may be pre-defined, for example, by a serviceprovider operating the RAN 402 and provided to the mobile device 102. Insome embodiments, the signaling load query 406 is sent more or lessfrequently based upon the performance characteristics of the currentserved technology provided via the RAN 402, the performance of theservice provider that operates the RAN 402, and/or the performance ofone or more layers of a mobile telecommunications network that includesthe RAN 402.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 102 generates the signaling loadquery 406 including the served physical cell ID (“PCI”) for the cell towhich the mobile device 102 is connected, and/or the cell ID in thesignaling load query 406. In these embodiments, the network signalingload management system 408 can send the corresponding signaling loadinformation to the mobile device 102 and one or more neighboring cells.In this manner, load balancing works in the presence or absence of radiotechnologies/base stations with signaling load-based SIB support.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method500 for generating a signaling load query, such as the signaling loadquery 406, will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment.The method 500 is described with additional reference to FIG. 4. Themethod 500 is described from the perspective of the mobile device 102.

The method 500 begins and proceeds to operation 502, where the mobiledevice 102 generates the signaling load query 406. From operation 502,the method 500 proceeds to operation 504, where the mobile device 102sends the signaling load query 406 to the network signaling loadmanagement system 408. From operation 504, the method 500 proceeds tooperation 506, where the mobile device 102 receives the signaling loadresponse 412 from the network signaling load management system 408. Fromoperation 506, the method 500 proceeds to operation 508, where themobile device 102 selects a RAN based in part upon the signaling loadinformation included in the signaling load query response 412. Fromoperation 508, the method 500 proceeds to operation 510, where themobile device 102 connects to the selected RAN. From operation 510, themethod 500 proceeds to operation 512, wherein the method 500 may end.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method600 for generating a signaling load query response, such as thesignaling load query response 412, will be described, according to anillustrative embodiment. The method 600 is described with additionalreference to FIG. 4. The method 600 also is described from theperspective of the network signaling load management system 408.

The method 600 begins and proceeds to operation 602, where the networksignaling load management system 408 receives the signaling load query406 from the mobile device 102. From operation 602, the method 600proceeds to operation 604, where the network signaling load managementsystem 408 analyzes the signaling load query 406 to determine signalingload information to include in the signaling load response 412. Fromoperation 604, the method 600 proceeds to operation 606, where thenetwork signaling load management system 408 obtains the requestedsignaling load information from the signaling load information database410.

From operation 606, the method 600 proceeds to operation 608, where thenetwork signaling load management system 408 generates the signalingload response 412 that includes the signaling load information obtainedfrom the signaling load information database 410 at operation 606. Fromoperation 608, the method 600 proceeds to operation 610, where thenetwork signaling load management system 408 sends the signaling loadresponse 412 to the mobile device 102. From operation 610, the method600 proceeds to operation 612, where the method 600 may end.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system 700 configuredto provide the functionality in accordance with various embodiments ofthe concepts and technologies disclosed herein. In some implementations,the mobile device 102, the network signaling load management system 408,the base station 108, the other base stations 114A-114N, and/or theSIB-incompatible base station 404 can utilize an architecture that isthe same as or similar to the architecture of the computer system 700.It should be understood, however, that modification to the architecturemay be made to facilitate certain interactions among elements describedherein.

The computer system 700 includes a processing unit 702, a memory 704,one or more user interface devices 706, one or more input/output (“I/O”)devices 708, and one or more network devices 710, each of which isoperatively connected to a system bus 712. The bus 712 enablesbi-directional communication between the processing unit 702, the memory704, the user interface devices 706, the I/O devices 708, and thenetwork devices 710.

The processing unit 702 may be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, asystem-on-a-chip, or other type of processor known to those skilled inthe art and suitable for controlling the operation of the servercomputer. Processing units are generally known, and therefore are notdescribed in further detail herein.

The memory 704 communicates with the processing unit 702 via the systembus 712. In some embodiments, the memory 704 is operatively connected toa memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 702 via the system bus 712. The memory 704 includes anoperating system 714 and one or more program modules 716. The operatingsystem 714 can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS,WINDOWS CE, and/or WINDOWS MOBILE families of operating systems fromMICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, theSYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREWfamily of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS, iOS,and/or LEOPARD families of operating systems from APPLE CORPORATION, theFREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operatingsystems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems, and the like.

The program modules 716 may include various software and/or programmodules to perform the various operations described herein. The programmodules 716 can include the network connection manager 120 and/or thenetwork decision engine 122 in embodiments that the mobile device 102 isconfigured like the computer system 700. The program modules 716 and/orother programs can be embodied in computer-readable media containinginstructions that, when executed by the processing unit 702, perform oneor more of the methods 200, 300, 500, 600 or at least a portion thereof,described in detail above with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6.According to embodiments, the program modules 716 may be embodied inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Although notshown in FIG. 7, it should be understood that the memory 704 also can beconfigured to store the cell broadcast message 104, the local signalingload information 106, the signaling load information 112, the signalingload information database 410, the signaling load query 406, thesignaling load response 412, and/or other data, if desired.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media mayinclude any available computer storage media or communication media thatcan be accessed by the computer system 700. Communication media includescomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulateddata signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristicschanged or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or othersolid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”),or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by the computer system 700. In the claims, the phrase “computerstorage medium” and variations thereof does not include waves or signalsper se and/or communication media.

The user interface devices 706 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer system 700. The user interfacedevices 706 may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers,personal digital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computingdevices. The I/O devices 708 enable a user to interface with the programmodules 716. In one embodiment, the I/O devices 708 are operativelyconnected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communicationwith the processing unit 702 via the system bus 712. The I/O devices 708may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, akeyboard, a mouse, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices 708may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, adisplay screen or a printer.

The network devices 710 enable the computer system 700 to communicatewith other networks or remote systems via a network 718, such as the RAN402. Examples of the network devices 710 include, but are not limitedto, a modem, a radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, atelephonic interface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network718 may include a wireless network such as, but not limited to, awireless local area network (“WLAN”), a wireless wide area network(“WWAN”), a wireless personal area network (“WPAN”) such as provided viaBLUETOOTH technology, a wireless metropolitan area network (“WMAN”) suchas a WiMAX network or metropolitan cellular network. Alternatively, thenetwork 718 may be a wired network such as, but not limited to, a widearea network (“WAN”), a wired LAN such as provided via Ethernet, a wiredpersonal area network n (“PAN”), or a wired metropolitan area network(“MAN”).

Turning now to FIG. 8, an illustrative mobile device 800 and componentsthereof will be described. In some embodiments, the mobile device 102described above with reference to FIG. 1 can be configured as and/or canhave an architecture similar or identical to the mobile device 800described herein in FIG. 8. It should be understood, however, that themobile device 102 may or may not include the functionality describedherein with reference to FIG. 8. While connections are not shown betweenthe various components illustrated in FIG. 8, it should be understoodthat some, none, or all of the components illustrated in FIG. 8 can beconfigured to interact with one other to carry out various devicefunctions. In some embodiments, the components are arranged so as tocommunicate via one or more busses (not shown). Thus, it should beunderstood that FIG. 8 and the following description are intended toprovide a general understanding of a suitable environment in whichvarious aspects of embodiments can be implemented, and should not beconstrued as being limiting in any way.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the mobile device 800 can include a display802 for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display802 can be configured to display various graphical user interface(“GUI”) elements, text, images, video, advertisements, prompts, virtualkeypads and/or keyboards, messaging data, notification messages,metadata, internet content, device status, time, date, calendar data,device preferences, map and location data, combinations thereof, and thelike. The mobile device 800 also can include a processor 804 and amemory or other data storage device (“memory”) 806. The processor 804can be configured to process data and/or can execute computer-executableinstructions stored in the memory 806. The computer-executableinstructions executed by the processor 804 can include, for example, anoperating system 808 (e.g., the operating system 118), one or moreapplications 810 (e.g., the network connection manager 120 and/or thenetwork decision engine 122), other computer-executable instructionsstored in a memory 806, or the like. In some embodiments, theapplications 810 also can include a UI application (not illustrated inFIG. 8).

The UI application can interface with the operating system 808 tofacilitate user interaction with functionality and/or data stored at themobile device 800 and/or stored elsewhere. In some embodiments, theoperating system 808 can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family ofoperating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILEOS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFTCORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems fromHEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family ofoperating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOSfamily of operating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OSfamily of operating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operatingsystems. These operating systems are merely illustrative of somecontemplated operating systems that may be used in accordance withvarious embodiments of the concepts and technologies described hereinand therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The UI application can be executed by the processor 804 to aid a user inentering content, viewing account information, answering/initiatingcalls, entering/deleting data, entering and setting user IDs andpasswords for device access, configuring settings, manipulating addressbook content and/or settings, multimode interaction, interacting withother applications 810, and otherwise facilitating user interaction withthe operating system 808, the applications 810, and/or other types orinstances of data 812 that can be stored at the mobile device 800. Thedata 812 can include, for example, the cell broadcast message 104, thelocal signaling load information 106, the signaling load information112, the signaling load query 406, and/or the signaling load response412. According to various embodiments, the applications 810 can include,for example, presence applications, visual voice mail applications,messaging applications, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications,add-ons, plug-ins, email applications, music applications, videoapplications, camera applications, location-based service applications,power conservation applications, game applications, productivityapplications, entertainment applications, enterprise applications,combinations thereof, and the like. The applications 810, the data 812,and/or portions thereof can be stored in the memory 806 and/or in afirmware 814, and can be executed by the processor 804. The firmware 814also can store code for execution during device power up and power downoperations. It can be appreciated that the firmware 814 can be stored ina volatile or non-volatile data storage device including, but notlimited to, the memory 806 and/or a portion thereof.

The mobile device 800 also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface816. The I/O interface 816 can be configured to support the input/outputof data such as location information, user information, organizationinformation, presence status information, user IDs, passwords, andapplication initiation (start-up) requests. In some embodiments, the I/Ointerface 816 can include a hardwire connection such as USB port, amini-USB port, a micro-USB port, an audio jack, a PS2 port, an IEEE 1394(“FIREWIRE”) port, a serial port, a parallel port, an Ethernet (RJ45)port, an RJ11 port, a proprietary port, combinations thereof, or thelike. In some embodiments, the mobile device 800 can be configured tosynchronize with another device to transfer content to and/or from themobile device 800. In some embodiments, the mobile device 800 can beconfigured to receive updates to one or more of the applications 810 viathe I/O interface 816, though this is not necessarily the case. In someembodiments, the I/O interface 816 accepts I/O devices such askeyboards, keypads, mice, interface tethers, printers, plotters,external storage, touch/multi-touch screens, touch pads, trackballs,joysticks, microphones, remote control devices, displays, projectors,medical equipment (e.g., stethoscopes, heart monitors, and other healthmetric monitors), modems, routers, external power sources, dockingstations, combinations thereof, and the like. It should be appreciatedthat the I/O interface 816 may be used for communications between themobile device 800 and a network device or local device.

The mobile device 800 also can include a communications component 818.The communications component 818 can be configured to interface with theprocessor 804 to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications withone or more networks such as the network 900 described above herein. Insome embodiments, other networks include networks that utilizenon-cellular wireless technologies such as WI-FI or WIMAX. In someembodiments, the communications component 818 includes a multimodecommunications subsystem for facilitating communications via thecellular network and one or more other networks.

The communications component 818, in some embodiments, includes one ormore transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can beconfigured to communicate over the same and/or different wirelesstechnology standards with respect to one another. For example, in someembodiments one or more of the transceivers of the communicationscomponent 818 may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMA, CDMAONE,CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, and greatergeneration technology standards. Moreover, the communications component818 may facilitate communications over various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards)including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and thelike.

In addition, the communications component 818 may facilitate datacommunications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family, includingHSDPA, EUL, or otherwise termed HSUPA, HSPA+, and various other currentand future wireless data access standards. In the illustratedembodiment, the communications component 818 can include a firsttransceiver (“TxRx”) 820A that can operate in a first communicationsmode (e.g., GSM). The communications component 818 also can include anN^(th) transceiver (“TxRx”) 820N that can operate in a secondcommunications mode relative to the first transceiver 820A (e.g., UMTS).While two transceivers 820A-N (hereinafter collectively and/orgenerically referred to as “transceivers 820”) are shown in FIG. 8, itshould be appreciated that less than two, two, and/or more than twotransceivers 820 can be included in the communications component 818.

The communications component 818 also can include an alternativetransceiver (“Alt TxRx”) 822 for supporting other types and/or standardsof communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, thealternative transceiver 822 can communicate using various communicationstechnologies such as, for example, WI-FI, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, infrared,IRDA, NFC, other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like.

In some embodiments, the communications component 818 also canfacilitate reception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satelliteradio networks, internet-based radio service networks, combinationsthereof, and the like. The communications component 818 can process datafrom a network such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, aWI-FI hotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digitalsubscriber line (“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinationsthereof, or the like.

The mobile device 800 also can include one or more sensors 824. Thesensors 824 can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air qualitysensors, movement sensors, orientation sensors, noise sensors, proximitysensors, or the like. As such, it should be understood that the sensors824 can include, but are not limited to, accelerometers, magnetometers,gyroscopes, infrared sensors, noise sensors, microphones, combinationsthereof, or the like. Additionally, audio capabilities for the mobiledevice 800 may be provided by an audio I/O component 826. The audio I/Ocomponent 826 of the mobile device 800 can include one or more speakersfor the output of audio signals, one or more microphones for thecollection and/or input of audio signals, and/or other audio inputand/or output devices.

The illustrated mobile device 800 also can include a subscriber identitymodule (“SIM”) system 828. The SIM system 828 can include a universalSIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or otheridentity devices. The SIM system 828 can include and/or can be connectedto or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface 830. In someembodiments, the slot interface 830 can be configured to acceptinsertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various typesof networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface 830 canbe configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Becauseother devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobiledevice 800 are contemplated, it should be understood that theseembodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The mobile device 800 also can include an image capture and processingsystem 832 (“image system”). The image system 832 can be configured tocapture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visualinformation. As such, the image system 832 can include cameras, lenses,charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. Themobile device 800 may also include a video system 834. The video system834 can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or storevideo content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system 832 andthe video system 834, respectively, may be added as message content toan MMS message, email message, and sent to another mobile device. Thevideo and/or photo content also can be shared with other devices viavarious types of data transfers via wired and/or wireless communicationdevices as described herein.

The mobile device 800 also can include one or more location components836. The location components 836 can be configured to send and/orreceive signals to determine a geographic location of the mobile device800. According to various embodiments, the location components 836 cansend and/or receive signals from GPS devices, A-GPS devices, WI-FI/WIMAXand/or cellular network triangulation data, combinations thereof, andthe like. The location component 836 also can be configured tocommunicate with the communications component 818 to retrievetriangulation data for determining a location of the mobile device 800.In some embodiments, the location component 836 can interface withcellular network nodes, telephone lines, satellites, locationtransmitters and/or beacons, wireless network transmitters andreceivers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, thelocation component 836 can include and/or can communicate with one ormore of the sensors 824 such as a compass, an accelerometer, and/or agyroscope to determine the orientation of the mobile device 800. Usingthe location component 836, the mobile device 800 can generate and/orreceive data to identify its geographic location, or to transmit dataused by other devices to determine the location of the mobile device800. The location component 836 may include multiple components fordetermining the location and/or orientation of the mobile device 800.

The illustrated mobile device 800 also can include a power source 838.The power source 838 can include one or more batteries, power supplies,power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current(“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source 838also can interface with an external power system or charging equipmentvia a power I/O component 840. Because the mobile device 800 can includeadditional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should beunderstood as being illustrative of one possible operating environmentfor various embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. The described embodiment of the mobile device 800 isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

Turning now to FIG. 9, additional details of a network 900 areillustrated, according to an illustrative embodiment. The network 900includes a cellular network 902, a packet data network 904, for example,the Internet, and a circuit switched network 906, for example, apublicly switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The cellular network 902includes various components such as, but not limited to, BTSs, Node-B'sor e-Node-B's, base station controllers (“BSCs”), radio networkcontrollers (“RNCs”), mobile switching centers (“MSCs”), mobilemanagement entities (“MMEs”), short message service centers (“SMSCs”),multimedia messaging service centers (“MMSCs”), home location registers(“HLRs”), home subscriber servers (“HSSs”), visitor location registers(“VLRs”), charging platforms, billing platforms, voicemail platforms,GPRS core network components, location service nodes, an IP MultimediaSubsystem (“IMS”), and the like. The cellular network 902 also includesradios and nodes for receiving and transmitting voice, data, andcombinations thereof to and from radio transceivers, networks, thepacket data network 904, and the circuit switched network 906. In someembodiments, the cellular network 902 includes one or more of the otherbase stations 114A-114N, the RAN 402, the SIB-incompatible base station404, the network signaling load management system 408, and/or thesignaling load information database 410.

A mobile communications device 908, such as, for example, a cellulartelephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, a PDA, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, the mobile device 102, and combinationsthereof, can be operatively connected to the cellular network 902. Thecellular network 902 can be configured as a 2G GSM network and canprovide data communications via GPRS and/or EDGE. Additionally, oralternatively, the cellular network 902 can be configured as a 3G UMTSnetwork and can provide data communications via the HSPA protocolfamily, for example, HSDPA, EUL (also referred to as HSUPA), and HSPA+.The cellular network 902 also is compatible with 4G mobilecommunications standards such as LTE, or the like, as well as evolvedand future mobile standards.

The packet data network 904 includes various devices, for example,servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication withone another, as is generally known. The packet data network 904 devicesare accessible via one or more network links. The servers often storevarious files that are provided to a requesting device such as, forexample, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically,the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing aweb page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Otherfiles and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files,as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network 904includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switchednetwork 906 includes various hardware and software for providing circuitswitched communications. The circuit switched network 906 may include,or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system(POTS). The functionality of a circuit switched network 906 or othercircuit-switched network are generally known and will not be describedherein in detail.

The illustrated cellular network 902 is shown in communication with thepacket data network 904 and a circuit switched network 906, though itshould be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or moreInternet-capable devices 910, for example, the mobile device 102, a PC,a laptop, a portable device, or another suitable device, can communicatewith one or more cellular networks 902, and devices connected thereto,through the packet data network 904. It also should be appreciated thatthe Internet-capable device 910 can communicate with the packet datanetwork 904 through the circuit switched network 906, the cellularnetwork 902, and/or via other networks (not illustrated).

As illustrated, a communications device 912, for example, a telephone,facsimile machine, modem, computer, the user device 102, or the like,can be in communication with the circuit switched network 906, andtherethrough to the packet data network 904 and/or the cellular network902. It should be appreciated that the communications device 912 can bean Internet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to theInternet-capable device 910. In the specification, the network 900 isused to refer broadly to any combination of the networks 902, 904, 906.It should be appreciated that substantially all of the functionalitydescribed with reference to the network 900 can be performed by thecellular network 902, the packet data network 904, and/or the circuitswitched network 906, alone or in combination with other networks,network elements, and the like.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that concepts andtechnologies directed to cell broadcast for signaling resource load fromRANs have been disclosed herein. Although the subject matter presentedherein has been described in language specific to computer structuralfeatures, methodological and transformative acts, specific computingmachinery, and computer-readable media, it is to be understood that theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein are not necessarily limitedto the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, thespecific features, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms ofimplementing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of theembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a mobile device, a cellbroadcast message from a base station, wherein the cell broadcastmessage comprises signaling load information of the base station, andwherein the signaling load information is representative of a signalingload associated with the base station; determining, by the mobiledevice, based at least in part upon the signaling load information, aradio access network of a plurality of radio access networks to whichthe mobile device should be connected; and connecting, by the mobiledevice, to the radio access network.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe cell broadcast message comprises a system information block.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the cell broadcast message comprises a shortmessaging service message.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellbroadcast message further comprises a composite signaling load levelcondition of the base station.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecell broadcast message further comprises further signaling loadinformation of a neighbor base station to the base station, wherein thefurther signaling load information is representative of a furthersignaling load associated with the neighbor base station that is learnedby the base station via a self-optimizing network feature.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the cell broadcast message further comprises furthersignaling load information of an overlapping cell associated with adifferent radio access technology from a radio access technologyutilized by the base station.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellbroadcast message further comprises further signaling load informationof an overlapping cell associated with a different frequency from afrequency utilized by the base station.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: generating, by the mobile device, a signaling loadquery directed to the base station, wherein the signaling load queryrequests the signaling load information; and sending, by the mobiledevice, the signaling load query to the base station.
 9. A mobile devicecomprising: a processor; and a memory comprising computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the mobiledevice to perform operations comprising receiving a cell broadcastmessage from a base station, wherein the cell broadcast messagecomprises signaling load information of the base station, and whereinthe signaling load information is representative of a signaling loadassociated with the base station, determining, based at least in partupon the signaling load information, a radio access network of aplurality of radio access networks to which the mobile device should beconnected, and connecting to the radio access network.
 10. The mobiledevice of claim 9, wherein the cell broadcast message comprises a systeminformation block.
 11. The mobile device of claim 9, wherein the cellbroadcast message comprises a short messaging service message.
 12. Themobile device of claim 9, wherein the cell broadcast message furthercomprises a composite signaling load level condition of the basestation.
 13. The mobile device of claim 9, wherein the cell broadcastmessage further comprises further signaling load information of aneighbor base station to the base station, wherein the further signalingload information is representative of a further signaling loadassociated with the neighbor base station that is learned by the basestation via a self-optimizing network feature.
 14. The mobile device ofclaim 9, wherein the cell broadcast message further comprises furthersignaling load information of an overlapping cell associated with adifferent radio access technology from a radio access technologyutilized by the base station.
 15. The mobile device of claim 9, whereinthe cell broadcast message further comprises further signaling loadinformation of an overlapping cell associated with a different frequencyfrom a frequency utilized by the base station.
 16. The mobile device ofclaim 9, wherein the operations further comprise: generating a signalingload query directed to the base station, wherein the signaling loadquery requests the signaling load information; and sending the signalingload query to the base station.
 17. A computer storage medium comprisingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of amobile device, cause the mobile device to perform operations comprising:receiving a cell broadcast message from a base station, wherein the cellbroadcast message comprises signaling load information of the basestation, and wherein the signaling load information is representative ofa signaling load associated with the base station; determining, based atleast in part upon the signaling load information, a radio accessnetwork of a plurality of radio access networks to which the mobiledevice should be connected; and connecting to the radio access network.18. The computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: generating a signaling load query directed to the basestation, wherein the signaling load query requests the signaling loadinformation; and sending the signaling load query to the base station.19. The computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the cell broadcastmessage further comprises further signaling load information that isrepresentative of a further signaling load associated with a neighborbase station to the base station.
 20. The computer storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein the cell broadcast message further comprises furthersignaling load information that is representative of a further signalingload associated with an overlapping cell.